Willoughby’s Smith Neighbourhood Plan Gets Redesign

by Mike Harrison

At the December 18 council meeting, Township of Langley mayor and council gave First Reading to a bylaw amending the Smith Neighbourhood Plan (SNP) in Willoughby. The previous SNP was originally adopted in June 2017 but sat undeveloped, stuck on a handful of unmet development prerequisites including major servicing upgrades and a new elementary school and park site. The adoption of the revised SNP should result in development finally proceeding (if only partially on the East side of 208 Street) in the Smith neighbourhood. Unfortunately, it could cause further delays for the western portion of the plan.

The report to council notes the proposed update focuses on the east side of 208 Street as it would allow for the widening of 208 Street, the construction of the 212 Street connector to the new 216 Street interchange, the construction of major recreation facilities and would provide critical stormwater detention sites. The new draft land use plan is shown below along with the previous land use plan for comparison.

Things to watch for in the new draft plan as it progresses:

• New land use designations east of 208 Street including higher densities and a large park
• A Special Study Area (SSA) covering almost the entire West side of the plan, west of 208 Street
• Potential for new community amenity contribution requirements
• The future elementary school/park site is still noted as a development prerequisite
• No indications of timing for the land use planning of the SSA

New Draft Land Use Map for Smith Neighbourhood Plan

Previous Land Use Map for Smith Neighborhood Plan

The Special Study Area (SSA) is explained in the report to require further studies and analyses to determine appropriate land uses. You will notice the SSA excludes a small group of properties at the northwest corner of 74B Avenue and 208 Street because that land lies in the stormwater catchment to the east of 208 Street. No timeline has been given to the future planning of the SSA.

Following the future land use planning of the Special Study Area, updates will be made to the Smith Neighbourhood Plan’s Engineering Services Plan, the Willoughby Greenway Amenity Policy, and the Community Amenity Contributions Policy.

Next steps:

The Township of Langley is planning to host a public information meeting immediately, in January/February, followed by the formal public hearing in March/April, after which the amended Smith Neighbourhood Plan can be considered for Third Reading.

Read the entire amended Smith Neighbourhood Plan.